Given how incredible the first season of CW’s The Flash was, and the CW’s writing seemed to be going downhill with Arrow Season 4 and Legends of Tomorrow, I won’t lie; I didn’t think that Season 2 was going to live up to the very high bar that had been set by its predecessor. Now that Season 2 has finished, I must now eat a huge slice of Humble Pie because it completely smashed the already sky-high bar and then some!
One of my favourite things about this show is Grant Gustin as Barry Allen, AKA The Flash. His performances are always perfectly pitched; he does a great job of showing that even while he may be the Fastest Man Alive, he’s still a man. A man who makes mistakes, a man who feels guilt when things go wrong, even when it’s not his fault. Gustin and the writers did a great job of conveying this theme from the start, showing how Barry has taken the blame for Ronnie Raymond’s sacrifice upon himself. Also, during the final three episodes, Gustin gives the performances of his career. Seriously, if he is not nominated for an Emmy, I will be very very upset. I won’t lie, I was incredibly upset when “director” Zack Snyder chose not to include Gustin as The Flash for the upcoming Justice League film, and now I bet he’s kicking himself.
Throughout the season, we are introduced to some long-awaited characters such as Wally West (The first Kid Flash, and later the third Flash after Barry’s death in the Crisis on Infinite Earths storyline), Jay Garrick (The Golden Age Flash of Earth-2), Jefferson Jackson (Firestorm), Kendra Saunders & Carter Hall (Hawkgirl & Hawkman), and most importantly, Zoom, the Season’s main antagonist. Also, we see the introduction of Earth-2 and the ‘Doppelgängers’ which are often villainous versions of Earth-1 characters, such as Deathstorm (Ronnie Raymond), Killer Frost (Caitlin Snow), Reverb (Cisco Ramon), Doctor Light (Linda Park) and even a non-evil version of Harrison Wells, all of which makes for a very interesting dynamic amongst the members of Team Flash. We also get to see the Special Effects team work their magic with villains such as Gorilla Grodd and King Shark, both of whom were superbly brought to life. The Flash/Arrow crossover did a good job of setting up Legends of Tomorrow too, without feeling forced, and it was definitely the highlight of Arrow season 4.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVOR9D8FRbQ
What really made this season great was how well the writers brought Zoom into the picture; we find out the Hunter Zolomon of Earth-2 witnessed his mother being killed in front of him when he was a child. Sound familiar? However, unlike Barry, Hunter was sent to an orphanage where he was frequently abused. I also loved the similarities between Zoom’s Origins story and the Netflix series Making A Murderer. So Hunter grew up to be a serial killer and was institutionalised. During a round of electroshock therapy, the S.T.A.R. Labs Particle Accelerator of Earth-2 exploded, creating Zoom in the process. Zoom terrorised Earth-2, then when the breach from the end of season 1 opened up, he saw his chance to conquer another world and he took it.
And I have to give it to the writers, they did a spectacular job. The final three episodes were absolutely heart-breaking. Think of how emotionally traumatising The Door episode was on Game of Thrones and then multiply it by about a thousand. I literally cried my eyes out. The Runaway Dinosaur episode was like being trapped in a glass case of emotion. It showed how much the show relies on the performances of the cast to carry it, especially Gustin and John Wesley Shipp (Henry Allen). Speaking of Henry Allen, in order to prove to Barry that they are the same, Zoom abducts Henry, takes him back to the house where Nora Allen was killed by Reverse Flash, and…..(I’m just holding back the tears here guys)….kills Henry with Barry helpless to stop him. All three actors involved in that scene (Gustin, Shipp, and Sears) completely nailed it. It was such an emotionally charged and tear jerking moment. Kudos to them.
Finally, the finale. Possibly one of the best finales of a superhero TV show since season 1 of Heroes. The reveal as to who is behind The Man in the Iron Mask was such a great twist on the writers’ behalf. I must say that I called it a few weeks before, but it was still really good to see Shipp return as the Scarlett Speedster, in the form of The Flash of Earth-3. And the end scene was a complete jaw-dropper. I won’t spoil that, but I’ll say one thing to my comic bros; Flashpoint.
So yeah, I know I’ve droned on a little, but this could have easily been so much longer. I have to rate this season a 9/10. The acting, especially from Gustin, Cavanagh, Sears, Keinyan Lonsdale (Wally West) and John Wesley Shipp, was astounding. The writing and direction was superb as always, and the visual effects were stunning. My only criticism would be the odd filler episode here and there, and some of the villains, like The Turtle and Griffin Grey were a bit naff. But at the end of the day, I must say that Flash is one of the best shows that is currently on, and I can’t wait for season 3.
Words by Anthony Cody